by Kristie Cook
Kali’s mouth shaped into a surprised O as her hands flew to the dagger buried hilt-deep in her chest.
“Get. Her!” she hissed, and the next thing I knew, Owen’s hands were around my throat, and my feet dangled in the air.
Owen! Don’t do this, I pleaded with him, staring him in the eyes as I clawed at his hands. He glared back with hard sapphires, his face straining as the grip on my throat tightened. Tears blurred my vision before falling. Please, Owen. Don’t let her do this to you. You’re my friend. My protector. You’re like my brother!
“No, I’m not, Alexis. I’m nothing to you.”
Stop it! My lungs seized with the lack of air. This isn’t you. You give your energy to Uri, remember? Not Duff, Owen. Not … Duff.
A memory of his mother flickered in his mind and something in his eyes glimmered. Or maybe it was only one of many pops of light flashing in my vision from the lack of oxygen.
You’re really … going to … kill me? I asked with the last bit of consciousness I had.
“That’s enough!” bellowed a vaguely familiar male voice.
Owen let go, and I fell to the floor, on my knees next to Vanessa. My lungs drew desperately for a breath, and the air felt like razor blades slicing down my throat. When the lights stopped flashing before my eyes, I looked up to see someone new in the room, removing the dagger from Kali’s chest. The sorceress gasped as the silver left her body, and then sneered at me.
“You’re not so dangerous when your mommy and pussy-whipped husband aren’t around, are you?” Kali asked.
“I said that’s enough,” the man growled at her, his voice cold and deep. “Remove the projection.”
With a slight bow of her head, Kali waved her hand, and our surroundings transformed. We were no longer in a small workroom, but in a vast cavern with several other people—well, Weres—standing at its perimeter and this man in the center, just in front of us. I slowly rose to my feet, pulling Vanessa up with me, and eyed the man who had made Kali obey.
Nearly as tall as Tristan with shoulders almost as wide, he wore a black sleeveless shirt that exposed his muscular arms and black dress pants with combat-style boots. Eyes the color of icebergs looked Vanessa and me up and down, as if appraising us. Not a single wrinkle lined his face, but his goatee was snow white, as well as his long hair, which was tied in a ponytail and draped over the front of his shoulder. This had been the guy from Vanessa’s memories, and with their similar features, I had no doubt he was her dad. So why had she said she didn’t know her father?
“Very well done, both of you,” the man said, his icy blue eyes scanning over all of us, then resting first on Owen and then on Vanessa.
His meaning sunk into my brain and then branded my soul. Both of you? I’d been right? Vanessa had been playing me all along? Even now … all of this had been an act? Although I’d suspected it—even expected it—the betrayal of both Owen and Vanessa slammed into me with the impact of a city bus. I inhaled sharply and my lungs trapped the air inside. My heart stuttered, shrank, became a rock in my chest.
I was never getting out of here.
“Thank you, too, Kali,” the man said, waving my dagger in the air as he eyed the sorceress. “I appreciate this gift. You can go now. And take your minion. That is, if he wants to go. Maybe he wants to stay here with us?”
Those ice-blue eyes locked on Owen’s now. The warlock shook his head and moved to Kali’s side. At this point, I was no longer surprised. My protector had tried to kill me, after all. The bruises on my neck still throbbed.
“You’re dismissed.” The man sneered at Kali, as if she dared to remain any longer. “Go on! You have work to do.”
And the frightening sorceress—the one who had nearly drained the entire Amadis Island of all its energy, who now controlled my husband—almost seemed to cower beneath this man. Who was he, that he could frighten even Kali? With a flourish of her hand and a breeze that lifted the hair off my neck, the two mages disappeared, leaving Vanessa and me alone with the man. Oh yeah, and with the silent Weres standing on guard.
“So what do we do now?” the man asked.
Vanessa swallowed noisily, and for the first time in, well, ever, I felt fear rolling off her body. But what was she so afraid of? She’d done her job, as far as I could tell.
“Vanessa, you of all people ought to know that you can’t take something from me without giving in return,” he said.
Vanessa pulled up her shoulders and lifted her chin. “We’ve taken nothing.”
He snarled at her. “I’m not a fool, child! I know what you came for!”
Vanessa swallowed again. “But we don’t have the pendant. They took it back. Besides, it belongs to her. What had you given her in return when you took it?”
My mind spun. What was Vanessa doing? Whose side was she on?
“Her life,” he said. “And, apparently, yours.”
“Well, then, since she doesn’t get the pendant, let her keep her life. In return,” Vanessa took a step forward, “you can have me back. Father.”
The man made a sound that I might have called a snort if anyone else had made it, but he wasn’t the snorting type.
“Father?” he asked as if he didn’t believe she’d had the gall to call him that. “We’re going to do this again?”
“I know it for a fact now. You can’t deny it anymore.” She took another step forward, anger overpowering the fear she’d felt moments ago, giving her confidence. Her voice came out as icy as his. “I was never good enough for you, was I? Victor was. Your oh-so-precious Victor. But not me. You were too embarrassed to call me your daughter so you denied us both. And then you made me into this. This monster that I am.”
“I did it for your own good. I saved your life.”
“No, you didn’t. You took everything away from me. Everything! I wanted a family. A life. And you took it! Just like you took my mother’s!” Tears streamed down Vanessa’s face, and I actually felt sorry for her. She surely hated each traitorous drop. And at that moment, I knew she hated him, too, and the Daemoni. That she truly had converted. That she hadn’t set me up, and I could trust her.
The man smirked. “This is exactly why I did it. To make you strong. Invincible. But you’re still so pathetic, it’s disgusting.”
It took every ounce of control I had to keep from getting involved. This wasn’t my fight. Not this part. This was between Vanessa and her fa— No, not father. That was no father standing before us. He was no better than my own sperm donor. But what did I expect from the Daemoni?
He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down his nose at her. Ice dripped from every word. “What has finally convinced you? What makes you so sure you’re even right?”
Vanessa jerked her head in my direction. “Her. The one you did always want.”
My heart jumped again. She was bringing me into this after all. But why? What did I have to do with them and their dysfunctional relationship?
Vanessa smirked at the man’s narrowed eyes as her tongue ran over the tip of a fang. “Her blood tastes very much like someone else’s I’ve had. So much, that there must be a close relation. Closer than cousins. It tastes like Victor’s. Like mine. And we know Sophia’s not our mother, so the tie must come from you. Am I right, Father?” She practically spit that last word out. “Or, I guess you prefer I still call you Lucas.”
My heart leapt into my throat. I felt like I had when Mom had first told me about him. As if I’d been punched in the stomach. How had I not considered that I’d come face-to-face with him while we were here? How had that not crossed my mind? And here he stood in the flesh.
Lucas. My infamous sperm donor.
Chapter 26
“Watch it, or it’ll be Mr. Emerson to you,” Lucas snapped at Vanessa, dropping another bombshell.
So not just Lucas, but Lucas Emerson! As in A.K. Emerson. Rina had given my author’s pen name after him. Why? But even more jarring—if Lucas, my sperm donor, was also Vanessa’s father, that meant she … Whoa.
I couldn’t process it all. My mind was in too much shock. I stood there stupidly, eyes wide and mouth open, no words forming in my muddled brain.
Lucas’s mouth stretched into a grin as he drank in my expression. My jaw must have been hanging at my knees. I snapped it close.
“Welcome home, my daughter,” he said as he acknowledged me for the first time with a tone that became suddenly warm and inviting. “I hope you plan to stay.”
I took a step backwards, swallowed down my heart and croaked, “Never.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. I hoped for a different answer. But I guess you are your mother’s daughter, aren’t you? How is that cunt, anyway? She probably thought it funny to rub your books in my face by using the surname I so frequently go by. Just made me proud to be your father.”
A small noise sounded in my throat as I tried not to gag. Lucas smirked again at my reaction. Jabbing buttons. He’s just trying to get to you. I tried to control the anger clawing at my chest.
He shook his head when I didn’t answer. “I guess it’s not the time for a grand reunion. So let me make this clear.” He stepped toward me, his icy blue eyes piercing into my soul. His warm, buttery voice became glacially cold. “You take something from me, I take something in return. It’s only fair.”
“As if you believe in fairness,” I whispered.
“Oh, now, see, you don’t even know me. I do believe in fairness. At least, when it’s in my favor.” He chuckled at his joke. “And this works in all of our favors, don’t you think? You get Vanessa and I get something I want. Win-win! Isn’t that what your generation calls it?”
“What do you want?” I asked, stalling for time to try to figure out how we were going to get out of here alive. Never had I wished so vehemently that I knew the best solution.
“My daughter of course.”
“Then take me,” Vanessa said. “I’ll stay. Let her go.”
Vanessa, no! I knew she really didn’t want this. She was doing it for me. Vanessa, my once sworn enemy, was trying to save me.
“He’ll never let us out alive. I have to try!”
Lucas eyed her, as if considering. Then he waved his hand at her, and she flew backwards, her back cracking against the earthen wall. He burst into laughter as her body slid to the floor. My heart hurt with the sound of his frigid guffaws, but not nearly as much as Vanessa’s must have.
“You’re not what I want!” he barked. “You’re right—you were never good enough. And definitely aren’t now.” He turned back to me. “I want the daughter that actually matters. You stay, Alexis, and Vanessa can go, and I’ll even let her take the stone with her. Seth will be free of us. He’ll be safe and so will the Amadis.”
My head moved side to side with each promise I knew he’d break. Lies. Deceit. Their most powerful weapon.
“You wouldn’t do that for your people? Your husband? Your sister?” And, man, did he know how to use that weapon. “How about my grandson, then?”
“Never!” I seethed.
“I’ll eventually get Dorian anyway, though. He’ll be, what—nine?—next month? I’ll be getting him soon, so why delay the inevitable? It’d be such a great trade for you.”
The anger boiled over at the sound of my son’s name coming from his wretched mouth. Just that he knew my son well enough to know his age and birth date made me sick. My body moved on its own until I stood nose-to-chest to Lucas. I glared up at him.
“You lay a hand on my son and I’ll fucking kill you.”
He laughed, the sound of an iceberg breaking apart. “Beautifully said. I’ll have you on my side one of these days, my daughter. It’s only a matter of time.” His eyes flicked over to Vanessa and then to me as he combed the tip of my dagger through his goatee. “Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll let you go as long as you take that traitorous whore with you. If you can get out of here alive, you’re free.”
What? I eyed him with suspicion. “You’re letting us go? Just like that?”
“Well, no, not just like that,” he said, mimicking my voice. He narrowed his eyes at me. “But I can’t keep you here. Not against your will and not alive. Otherwise, Dorian might get it in his head to come rescue his mummy. And that would break the curse and ruin all of my plans for you and your little family.” He leaned toward me. “I need him to come to me on my terms, not as a self-sacrifice.”
“If he’s letting us go, we gotta get out of here!” Vanessa shrieked in my mind.
Lucas snapped his fingers and the Weres—five burly men and a woman with black hair down to her knees—instantly stood next to him. The woman gave me a surly grin.
“Let’s see what you’re made of. I’ll even give you a head start before I set Rene, here, after you.” Lucas nodded at the woman and then the others. All of them burst out of their skins, were-goo flying, replaced by five werewolves and a cheetah. He petted the cheetah’s head, and she let out a growl.
Vanessa was on her feet, already tugging at my hand. “He’s playing a game. Let’s go while we can!”
But I didn’t move, my eyes on my dagger still in Lucas’s hand. I needed my weapon. I needed Cassandra.
“My dagger?” I boldly asked. “You’ve given me nothing for it in fair trade, so can I have it back?”
“I’m giving you your life!” he roared, all sick humor gone, replaced by the intense anger of an overpowered tyrant.
A hissing sound whistled through his teeth. The Weres crouched, ready to pounce, the hair along their spines standing on end and their lips pulled back from their saliva-dripping fangs. Vanessa wasted no more time. She bolted, pulling me with her, through the doorway and down the tunnel, the werewolves right on our heels. But not the cheetah. Lucas really was giving us a head start.
I shot electricity blindly behind us, but it sounded as though it hit the walls and not our pursuers. I glanced over my shoulder and a wolf’s golden eyes were right. there. I flicked my wrist, and he flew back, plowing into the others like a bowling ball. They recovered immediately.
“Faster!” Vanessa said. We moved so quickly, the walls became a brown blur on either side of us.
But we weren’t fast enough. As we rounded the bend, claws dug grooves down my back. I stumbled, then fell face first.
My fingers fumbled for the back-up weapon I kept in my boot as long teeth scraped against my knuckles, trying to stop me. I eventually found the knife, and flipped it open while trying to roll over, but the wolf pinned me to the ground with one paw on each shoulder. Its jaw snapped near my head, its hot breath blowing on my ear. I wiggled and squirmed and finally pushed myself over. As I rolled, I plunged the knife in between the gray wolf’s ribs. It arfed like a dog, but the wail trailed into a human moan of pain. I scurried out crab-like from under the naked man’s body, and yanked my knife out of his side. I stared, mesmerized, at the blood pooling under him. My chest contracted. I’d killed him? Was this my first kill?
“Alexis!” Vanessa shrieked.
I spun to find a wolf’s mouth attached to her arm and another yanking on her calf, about to pull her down. I pushed a wave of power at them, and they both flew off her, their bodies crashing to the ground. Now freed, Vanessa took off in a blur and a second later, reappeared right where she’d been, her tongue licking blood from her lips. All of the wolves morphed back into their human forms. All of them dead.
“Let’s go!” She grabbed my forearm and ran again. I stumbled after her at first, still in shock, but my survival instinct finally kicked in, and I ran.
The large room where the tunnels met felt so much farther away than it had been before, but we finally flew into it. And so did more wolves from all directions, blocking our way out. We had no choice but to fight.
One or two wolves would have been no problem. Even five or six or seven. But this many? And still more poured out of the tunnels. Vanessa grabbed the ones that lunged at her by the heads, snapped their necks and flung them away like ragdolls. I blasted them with Amadis power and electricity until the putrid odor of burnt
fur made us gag. But there were more than a handful to pick off one-by-one. A pack of twenty or so attacked us, jaws snapping and claws swiping.
Our fists and feet pounded at the creatures’ bodies. Vanessa ripped into their necks with her fangs, and my knife sliced into their limbs and shoulders and haunches, but this smaller blade didn’t compare to my dagger, and the damage was minimal. A wolf’s claws raked through my hair, ripping out a clump. Other claws ripped through my leathers and into my skin. Snouts clamped down on my arms and legs and shook like a dog does with a rope, tossing me back and forth. My head smacked the wall, then the floor, then the wall again, each impact rattling my brain. I formed a bubble of Amadis power within me and pushed it outwards. They all let go.
But only for a moment. They lunged again and grabbed on to whatever part of my body their teeth found. I gathered more Amadis power, worked it into a frenzy and exploded it out of my body. The wolves yelped and whimpered as their bodies crashed into the walls and floor. We seized the opportunity and ran again.
But something was wrong.
I thought we’d chosen the same passageway we’d come through, the one that led back to the icy cave. But that one had been long and empty, no signs of life surrounding it. As we continued running now, I sensed mind signatures up ahead. Tons of them. Way too many to fill a tunnel. Way too many to fill a cavern or even a large building. Enough for a small town …
Vanessa!
“Oh, shit!” she said at the same time. “That’s the marketplace.”
She spun on the spot and grabbed my wrist again.
“Hurry! Before they sense us!”
We ran back the way we came, but before we returned to the junction, the tunnel suddenly veered off to the left when it had been straight just a moment ago.
“Mages are changing the paths. He’s messing with us,” Vanessa said.
We passed a wide opening, and Vanessa darted inside the room. She bent over, her hands on her knees and looked up at me.
“We need to regroup,” she said, keeping her voice low.
I leaned my butt against the wall and assumed her same position. Neither of us was out of breath, but at least for me, my heart raced and adrenaline pumped too quickly in my veins. My pulse pounded and whirred in my head.
